Saturday morning quotes 2.18: Be authentic
Due to loss of valuable time spent dealing with some very frustrating obstacles — having to do with the unfortunate ubiquitous presence of bad behavior on the internet — one of us is a hair’s breadth from suspending all online activities, including our Saturday Quote series.
The internet is a den of thieves. Think about it. Without authentic human interactions and direct visual and physical modes of communication and response, the internet is merely a playground for the unethical to prey upon the trusting and unsuspecting. The internet is the main reason musicians can no longer make a living, as they are routinely robbed both by digital distributors and outright thieves. The internet is responsible for the breakdown of community with the advent of so-called “social networking” sites, where “liking” something is supposed to replace actually getting off one’s duff and helping one’s friends and neighbors.
Instead of suspending our Saturday Quotes, readers are just going to have to put up with one from us:
Read this and then turn off your computer and do something real. Read a book, preferably something relevant like H.G. Well’s Time Machine, or Orwell’s 1984. Listen to a CD, preferably something by Mignarda. Dig in your garden. Sing. Play your lute. Anything that involves preserving authentic human skills.
Unquiet Thoughts 
If Mignarda were to pull all the Youtube video and suspend Unquiet thoughts, your passion would be missed. Just wanted you to know your expression of frustration hasn’t gone unheard and unfelt into some black hole.
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Thanks for your encouragement.
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Hear, hear!
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Thanks, Dave. After finally gaining access to the grand chamber and having a wee peek at what’s behind the curtain, one begins to find the New World Order a bit tiresome.
Sad news about dear friend Bill, who used the internet for communicating good and clever things and was the world’s most authentic human being.
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Yes, he really used the Internet in a positive way. I’ll tell ya, though, the dark side of that was that he obsessed on his computer up til the end. Even when he couldn’t think clearly enough to do anything with it, he tried. Some days it was as if he was trapped in some sort of virtual purgatory. Part of the motivation was that he was thinking about his legacy, and the computer “work” that he thought he had to do gave him a reason to hang on, but it also frustrated him a lot and kept him from doing other things he said he wanted to do. It was cautionary, believe you me, to see the stranglehold technology can have on us, even at the end of life.
(Don’t get the wrong idea, though. His last months were mostly a beautiful thing – everyone who loved him had a chance to spend time and say goodbye.)
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“…do something real… Play your lute.”
OK, ok… I broke the wooden 11th fret on my lute today. Playing a nasty chord passage in Piazzolla’s “Mumuki”. That was too real. Tomorrow I play with white glue & toothpicks, again.
You guys have to hang in there… maybe take a small vacation if necessary.
Do something unreal, now & then-, just to relax. (controlled bits of teevee, In small, controlled doses only…)
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Hi Ron,
I hear your pain and concern about the Internet community. A couple of things to consider. Music theft existed before the Internet. Cassette tapes, 8 track, and CDs as well as photocopiers all provide ways to copy and distribute music without requiring the Internet. I saw lots of it going on before the web became popular. Bootleg CD and DVD also provide a huge problem in media distribution. So, my point. The Internet has provided a very visible and easy to use distribution channel that can be misused but misuse is not a new problem.
I think the same thing goes for compulsive activities. If you are prone to compulsion the web is an easy one to indulge in. If it were not there then compulsive behavior would be expressed in other ways. In other words technology is not the cause – but it is a convenient enabler.
I really hope you do not withdraw from this environment. Your presence is greatly appreciated and I would miss hearing your views and ruminations. Without the web I would, most likely, never have heard your music, benefited from your wisdom, or learned from your knowledge. Thank you.
Please consider all the positive benefits of your presence in addition to the negative. I hope the positive outway the negative.
Warmest regards
David
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Thank you, David, for your kind words of encouragement. You’re right of course about the technology as enabler for bad behavior rather than inherently evil. We’ll try to bear this in mind. While Donna is comfortable with the technology and knows how to put it to use, I am a serious Luddite and find myself less enthralled by the internet. I guess that’s why I play the lute.
RA
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